Issues in Ecotourism and Resource Conservation

Is ecotourism merely a novel ‘saleable’ label for what travelers and their agents have been doing all along? Or is it “a new alternative for sharing cultures and ecosystems based on. . noble objectives” [18]? As an arena in which “corporate tenets and conservationist ideals are interwoven’ [47], ecotourism may continue to elude concrete definition. However, analysis of the benefits and costs of tourism in general and of ecotourism in particular may provide some perspective on whether a more environmentally and socially benign type of travel has emerged and can offer communities a unique opportunity for sustainable development.